· Stocks fell on Tuesday, the first trading day of a historically tough month, after the world’s two largest economies began imposing new tariffs on each other’s goods. Weak manufacturing data also dented investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 285.26 points lower, or 1.1%, at 26,118.02. The S&P 500 lost 0.7% to end the day at 2,906.27 while the Nasdaq Composite pulled back 1.1% to 7,874.16.
Equities hit their session lows after the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity contracted last month for the first time since early 2016. The Dow lost as much as 1.6%, or 425.06 points. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq briefly dropped 1.2% and 1.5%, respectively.
· European stocks closed lower Tuesday, with British opposition lawmakers bidding to seize control of the House of Commons and stop the U.K. leaving the European Union without a deal on October 31.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was down 0.35% at the closing bell, oil and gas stocks shedding 0.9% to lead losses as most sectors and major bourses ended the session in the red.
Sterling broke below $1.20 on Tuesday morning amid Britain’s political uncertainty, sliding as low as $1.1967 to reach its lowest point against the greenback since the October 2016 flash crash. However, it recovered slightly to trade at $1.2088 by the end of the European session as rebel lawmakers applied for an emergency debate in parliament in the hope of thwarting a no-deal Brexit.
Sterling broke below $1.20 on Tuesday morning amid Britain’s political uncertainty, sliding as low as $1.1967 to reach its lowest point against the greenback since the October 2016 flash crash. However, it recovered slightly to trade at $1.2088 by the end of the European session as rebel lawmakers applied for an emergency debate in parliament in the hope of thwarting a no-deal Brexit.
If the request is accepted by the House Speaker John Bercow, opposition lawmakers could have a vote on Tuesday evening to wrestle control of parliamentary business away from the government, which would be seen as a de facto confidence vote on Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Brexit strategy. This could lead to an extension of the Brexit deadline until January 31, 2020.
· Asia stocks were mixed in Wednesday morning trade as data released overnight showed U.S. factory activity in August contracting for the first time since early 2016.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.1% in early trade, while the Topix index shed 0.43%.
South Korea’s Kospi, on the other hand, rose 0.19%. The S&P/ASX 200 in Australia fell 0.87%.
Overall, the MSCI Asia ex-Japan index traded flat.
Reference: CNBC
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